Like other social media platforms, TikTok has recently become a breeding ground for strange and dangerous phenomena. One of the most concerning developments is the use of borax, a common household cleaning chemical, as a supposed health cure. Health professionals and medical officials are trying to discredit this alarming practice, which poses serious dangers to the health of consumers.
TikTok, a prominent video-sharing site, has seen more clips promoting borax as a miracle cure for various health problems. Users claim in these videos that drinking small amounts of borax dissolved in water can treat acne, digestive disorders, and even more serious conditions like arthritis and cancer.
Borax, often sodium borate, is a common insecticide and household cleaner. Although it has some industrial and medical uses, it is not suitable for human consumption.
Uncovering TikTok’s Borax Drinking Trend, From Viral Fad to Public Health Crisis
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Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor is dispelling a viral trend on social media that could endanger people’s health at least twice a month. This week’s theme is borax.
The powdered material is found in laundry detergent and is available as a cleaning agent. Boric acid, a different formulation of boron, is also used to kill ants and roaches.
Although borax has been banned from food products in the United States, some people on TikTok have incorrectly claimed that adding a pinch to water could reduce inflammation and help with joint pain, or that soaking in borax in the bathtub could “detox” the body. Several TikTok stars with hundreds of thousands of followers advocated for borax in videos that were later removed.
Johnson-Arbor, a medical toxicologist and co-medical director of the National Poison Center in the Capital, regularly produces articles for the center’s website that correct the history of dangerous health fads.
She claims that ingesting borax could cause stomach inflammation and lead to blue-green vomit or diarrhea. She claims that soaking in Borax can cause anemia, seizures over time, and rashes that make the skin look as pink as a boiled lobster and begin to flake off.
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“There’s really nothing to support the use of borax in humans for inflammation, oxidative stress reduction or anything like that,” Johnson-Arbor explained.
As health misinformation spreads on TikTok, many medical professionals have felt compelled to warn users both on and off the platform of the dangers of these so-called hacks and alternatives.
Johnson-Arbor stated last month that she authored an article warning about berberine, a weight-loss nutritional supplement that some TikTok users called “Nature’s Ozempic” but is known to cause gastrointestinal problems.
Similarly, some social media hype around the weight-gain vitamin apetamine has indicated that it can make people “thin-fat,” meaning they’ll have a narrow waist and big rear end. However, it contains an antihistamine, and the FDA has warned that apetamine is imported illegally and can cause dizziness, tiredness, irregular heartbeats, and liver damage.
Then there’s the craze of inhaling smelling salts, popularized on TikTok by a company called Nose Slap, which can be deadly if done wrong or over a long period of time, and the PRIME energy drink, which has a caffeine level of about six Coke cans.
On Friday, a TikTok spokesperson waited to respond to a request for comment. The site recommends fighting misinformation in its community guidelines, which it says are enforced using “a combination of technology and moderation equipment.”
“If content fact-checkers determine that the content is false and we believe it violates our policies, we may remove the video from our platform or make the video ineligible for recommendation in For You feeds,” TikTok states in its terms and conditions.
According to Wendy Stephan, an epidemiologist at the Florida Poison Information Center, people are drawn to these kinds of health fads. Prescription drugs can be expensive or in short supply, and people are only sometimes able to get doctors’ appointments right away, so many people opt for quick and inexpensive remedies, she says.
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According to Stephan, on TikTok, the producers’ advice seems reasonable and is accompanied by entertaining images. “I can see how people find it attractive when someone who seems really nice and believable tells you ‘this worked for me and it’s great,'” he added. However, he stressed that fake health video authors “are also making money from these posts, they’re getting a lot of eyes.”
And of course, misinformation about personal health can be deadly, Stephan added. “We’ve seen deaths related to borax.” It is extremely unlikely, but it is possible. “This is not a harmless substance,” he stated.
According to Johnson-Arbor, some social media trends result from the misinterpretation of scientific studies. In the case of borax, some TikTok creators cited a researcher’s claim that boron is “an essential nutrient for bone and joint health.”
According to Johnson-Arbor, health misinformation on social media often revolves around the same themes.
“Everyone wants to sleep better,” she said, along with losing weight and looking better. “Everyone wants to live a longer life. Everyone wants to have less inflammation.” To combat misinformation, according to Stephan, poison centers frequently create their social media posts, but “we don’t have the traction that a lot of these influencers have.”
Neither do most doctors, who lack the time and resources to wage a campaign against harmful viral trends. However, some people have taken it upon themselves to speak.
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Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency care physician and TikTok health educator, said she strives to use clear, jargon-free language in her videos that warn audiences about misguided trends.
“I also believe that it is essential not to attack others. I want to be sensible, even-tempered and approach things authentically, without judging,” she commented.
Carlo Ledesma, a medical laboratory technician who occasionally volunteers his knowledge on TikTok, said he started watching videos of people drinking borax earlier this year.
He captioned a TikTok in April, “Just please don’t eat this!” He felt that warning people about the dangers of borax was an essential public service.
“This app contains children. There are parents who are not medical professionals watching this,” Ledesma said, adding: “As a medical professional, we swear to protect the interests of the common good.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn